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So excited to welcome postmodern horror writer Brian Evenson to the show. A true honor. And the first fiction writer on the show! Brian is one of my favorite authors, and his stories are violent, unsettling, and profound.

We talk about horror fiction, the occult, David Lynch, metaphors, the horror of relationships extending into our lives, the concept of doubles, the meaninglessness or meaning of suffering, and revising everything we know. I also ask Brian how a character could get out of one of his stories unscathed.

Brian also reads the beginning of his story, “The Intricacies of Post-Shooting Etiquette” from his collection, The Wavering Knife.

Oh, and also, I ask about if Brian’s stories all stem from boner shame.

My new online course is coming! What Is the Occult? is an exploration of all that weird shit from 80s movies and Buffy and the creepy section at the library your parents told you to stay away from. It’s a look at why the occult is more important than ever, even if you’re a total atheist. How can the occult amplify your understanding of politics, science, art, and more?

The course is on 3/12 and only $15.00 for a standard ticket (with other ticket levels available)! If you can’t attend the day of, don’t worry! Your ticket gets you exclusive 90-day access to a recording of the whole thing! Watch the trailer and sign up!

More on the course:

It’s easy enough to talk about the occult. You know: wands, cauldrons, tarot cards, naked women in the woods and robed men in English libraries. It’s also not hard to point out the occult in history and politics; whether it’s the infamous UK magus Aleister Crowley, Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s interest in psychics and astrology, or the Salem witch trials.

But what is the occult? Is it a philosophy? A practice? A reservoir of power? Mumbo jumbo anti-science and delusion?

And why should you care, anyway?

In this live interactive course and Q&A, writer, teacher, and activist Conner Habib will conjure up a definition that outlines just how radical, exciting, and useful the occult is, especially in our dynamic and intense moment in history.

– How the occult can and does figure into your everyday life, even if you’re not a practitioner (or a believer!).

– Why the occult is so stigmatized in our culture, and how to puruse it without shame anyway.

– Differing philosophies of the occult across disciplines and practitioners.

– How the occult relates to politics, economics, and science.

– Whether or not this is all just a bunch of hocus-pocus bunk.

and much more!

Conner will guide you through the complex, fascinating, and sometimes just plain weird world of the occult in this live, online course. It’s for the beginner and the adept alike.

My short graphic horror story, “Hex Change,” co-created with artistAmit Elanwill be out later this year in the anthology Horror International. I couldn’t be happier to be amongst the amazing contributors, including such luminaries asDiamanda GalasandJoe Lansdale!

I’ll be posting updates on the anthology as well as where you can get a copy as the publication date draws closer. For now, here are a few sample panels and pages I co-created with Amit (some finished, some unfinished)